The FTC’s effort to implement a nationwide ban on the use of most non-compete agreements has been stalled indefinitely following a recent court ruling by a district court judge in Texas.  Specifically, in Ryan, LLC v. FTC, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown issued a ruling blocking the FTC’s final rule from going into effect, finding that the FTC “lack[ed] statutory authority to promulgate the Non-Compete Rule” and noting that the FTC’s rule was “arbitrary and capricious” as the FTC failed to provide a reasonable explanation to justify the breadth of the rule.

Originally ...

Over the weekend, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1524 into law, an emergency provision clarifying that Senate Bill 478, the “hidden fees” law that went into effect this week, will not apply to restaurants, bar, food concessions, grocery stores, or grocery delivery services in the same way it will apply to businesses in other industries. SB 1524 arose from concern in the restaurant industry regarding the impact SB 478 would have on restaurants following the issuance of guidelines from the California Attorney General Office in May.

As a reminder, SB 478 revises applicable code ...

On May 31, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 828, delaying the implementation of the recently passed healthcare minimum wage law, SB 525, by one month, from June 1, 2024 to July 1, 2024.  The applicable law, SB 525, was previously passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Newsom in October 2023.  In recent weeks, it was determined state budgetary concerns have made it practical to delay implementation of SB 525 by another month.  Further, all future increases to minimum wage under SB 525 will occur on July 1st of subsequent years, rather than June 1st.

The Federal Trade Commission recently issued a final rule largely banning the use of non-compete agreements nationwide.  The stated purpose of the rule is to address the substantially increased harm non-compete agreements have caused to fair competition in recent years.  While several states, including California, already have similar bans in place, the FTC determined that a nationwide rule was necessary as the state-by-state approach did not adequately address the issue.

The FTC estimates that approximately 30 million workers are currently covered by non-competes.  By wiping ...

On May 8, 2024, the California Attorney General’s Office released much needed and highly anticipated guidance on steps companies in California will need to take to ensure compliance with SB 478, California’s prohibition on “drip pricing” set to take effect on July 1, 2024.  These new guidelines are particularly helpful in detailing how companies in the hospitality and restaurant space can avoid running afoul of the new law.

As a reminder, SB 478, sometimes referred to as the “Honest Pricing Law" or the “Hidden Fees Statute”, revises applicable Civil Code provisions ...

The California Office of Administrative Law approved the California Civil Rights Council’s proposed amendment to the California Fair Chance Act, effective October 1, 2023. In addition to providing employers with further guidance on how to handle job applicants with a criminal history, the amendment also expands which employers and job applicants fall under the scope of the FCA.

Originally enacted in 2018, the FCA aims to remove unnecessary difficulties for individuals with criminal backgrounds to find employment. Specifically, the FCA prohibits an employer with five or more ...

Earlier this year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (WHD) entered into a memorandum of understanding “to maximize and improve the enforcement of” the laws administered by the two agencies.  The purpose of the MOU is to foster better collaboration between the agencies through “information sharing, joint investigations, training, and outreach.”

Taking immediate effect, the organizations have agreed to broader information and data sharing between each other.  Notably, either organization “may share ...

The California Legislature recently passed Assembly Bill 933, a bill expanding privileged speech to expressly include communications regarding factual information pertaining to incidents of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination.

Currently, California statutes list specific types of oral and written communications that are privileged and therefore cannot be the basis for a claim of defamation against the speaker.  Privileged categories include, among other things, statements made in pursuit of a lawsuit or made in the proper discharge of an official duty.  ...

The National Labor Relations Board recently issued a final rule broadening who may be considered a joint employer of another employer’s employees under the National Labor Relations Act.

Under the former rule, passed in February 2020 during the Trump administration, an entity is considered a joint employer of a separate’s employer’s employees only if the two employers “share or codetermine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment, which are exclusively defined as wages, benefits, hours of work, hiring, discharge, discipline, supervision, and ...

Kellogg successfully defeated a fraud and misrepresentation lawsuit concerning its popular Pop-Tarts product when a judge in the Southern District of New York granted its motion to dismiss. Plaintiff Elizabeth Russett filed a putative class action in the Southern District of New York alleging that Kellogg had, among other things, committed fraud and violated multiple consumer protection statutes by misrepresenting the amount of strawberries present in its Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tart.

Plaintiff’s allegations were based on the claim that Kellogg misled its customers by ...

After succeeding in having “100% tuna” claims dismissed, Subway experienced a setback when a judge in the Northern District of California permitted certain revised claims about Subway Restaurants, Inc.’s tuna products to proceed. Plaintiffs Karen Dhanowa and Nilima Amin filed a putative class action complaint against the sandwich maker and multiple affiliates, alleging that they committed fraud and violated several California consumer statutes by claiming, among other things, that its tuna fish products were “100% tuna” and contained “100% skipjack and ...

A jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California last month found that an international beer conglomerate’s marketing of one of its drinks infringed on the trademark of a smaller, independent craft brewery. Plaintiff Stone Brewing Company, LLC, an independent craft brewery based in San Diego, sued Molson Coors Brewing Company and related entities, alleging that Molson Coor’s rebranding of its Keystone beer infringed on Plaintiff’s “STONE” trademark.  

Named after a ski resort in Colorado, the original branding for Molson Coor’s ...

A federal judge in the Southern District of New York dismissed a fraud and misrepresentation action against Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., a food company whose brands include Sara Lee, Brownberry, and Entenmann's. Plaintiff Monica Boswell brought an action against Bimbo, alleging that the company violated several New York consumer protection statutes by fraudulently advertising one of its products as an “All Butter Loaf Cake” when, in reality, the cake includes other ingredients in addition to butter, such as soybean oil and artificial flavors. 

Bimbo filed a motion to dismiss ...

A federal judge earlier this month dismissed a misrepresentation lawsuit against Subway Restaurants, Inc. and multiple affiliates concerning the sandwich maker’s claims regarding its tuna. Plaintiffs Karen Dhanowa and Nilima Amin filed a putative class action complaint in the Northern District of California alleging that Subway committed fraud and violated several California consumer statutes by claiming, among other things, that its tuna fish products were “100% tuna” and contained “100% skipjack and yellowtail tuna.” Notably, the first amended complaint ...

The Ninth Circuit last month upheld a trial court’s decision to dismiss a false advertising lawsuit against Trader Joe’s concerning the store’s labeling of its Manuka honey. The case, Moore et al. v. Trader Joe’s Co., Case No. 19-16618 (9th Cir.), centered around allegations that Trader Joe’s violated multiple states’ consumer protection laws by falsely labeling its Manuka honey as “100% New Zealand Manuka Honey” when, in reality, only about 57-62% of the honey is derived from Manuka nectar.

Manuka honey is created by bees that forage from the Manuka bush, a plant ...

Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit reversed approval of a class action settlement, finding several indications that the proposed settlement was the result of collusion between the parties and did not adequately serve the class. The case, Briseño et al. v. ConAgra Foods Inc., Case No. 19-56297 (9th Cir.), originally filed in 2011, centers around allegations that defendant ConAgra Food Inc., then-owner of Wesson Oil, falsely advertised its oil as “100% Natural” when in fact the oil contained ingredients made from GMOs.

After several years of litigation, plaintiffs ...

A proposed class action settlement pending in the District Court of Colorado involving Grubhub, Inc. has been called into question by would-be intervenors from a similar action against Grubhub pending in the Northern District of Illinois. The Colorado case, CO Craft LLC dba Freshcraft v. GrubHub Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-01327 (D. Colo) was filed by plaintiff Freshcraft on May 11, 2020, alleging a single cause of action against Grubhub for violation of the Lanham Act. Freshcraft alleges that Grubhub falsely advertised on its platform that certain restaurants not partnered with ...

Parties in another false advertising case surrounding the use of the term “natural” have filed for preliminary approval of a class action settlement. On May 7, 2021, the plaintiff in Megan Holve v. McCormick & Company, Inc., Case No. 6:16-cv-06702-FPG asked a Federal Judge in the Western District of New York to preliminarily approve the parties’ proposed class action settlement to resolve the nearly five-year-old litigation.

Originally filed back in October 2016, plaintiff Holve, purporting to act on her behalf as well as on behalf of both a nationwide class and New York ...

The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a district court decision dismissing a case for lack of standing, finding that an advocacy group must demonstrate that it affirmatively diverted resources to combat alleged false claims to maintain standing in a false advertising litigation.

The case, Friends of the Earth, et al. v. Sanderson Farms, Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-03592 (N.D. Cal.), was originally filed by multiple advocacy groups in 2017 against Sanderson Farms, Inc., a poultry farming company.  Plaintiffs alleged that defendant violated both the California False Advertising Law and ...

Parties in an added-sugar class action pending in the Northern District of California are taking another shot at obtaining preliminary approval of a settlement reached between the parties. The case, Stephen Hadley et al. v. Kellogg Sales Co., Case No. 5:16-cv-04955, originally filed in 2016, alleges that Kellogg violated several California and New York laws by marketing many of their cereals with deceptive health and wellness claims that mask the cereals’ high added sugar content.  Plaintiffs specifically target roughly a dozen of Kellogg’s cereals. The challenged ...

On February 24, 2021, a judge in the United States Court for the Northern District of California preliminarily approved a $15 million class-action settlement for Post Foods, based on the case Debbie Krommenhock et al. v. Post Foods, LLC, Case No. 3:16-cv-04958-WHO, which concerns representations made by Post Foods LLC in the labeling and advertising of several popular cereal brands, including Honey Bunches of Oats and Raisin Bran.

Plaintiffs Debbie Krommenhock and Stephen Hadley filed a class action complaint against Post in August 2016 alleging that Post violated California ...